Novelist and screenwriter Ayad Akhtar’s first play, “Disgraced” – winner of the 2013 Pulitzer Prize for drama, a 2015 Tony Award nominee for best play, and the most-produced play in America in the 2015–2016 season – was one of the Huntington Theatre Company’s most talked-about hits last season.

New conversations will likely spring up around the Huntington’s production of Akhtar’s second play, “The Who & the What” – which examines the Muslim-American experience using the prism of faith and family – beginning Friday, March 31, at the Boston Center for the Arts’ Calderwood Pavilion.

In the two-act play, being directed in Boston by Huntington associate producer M. Bevin O’Gara (“Milk Like Sugar”), a talented writer, Zarina (Aila Peck), is working on a novel about women and Islam, while also beginning a relationship with Eli (Joseph Marrella), a young Muslim proselyte. When Zarina’s conservative father (Rom Barkhorda) becomes aware of his daughter’s latest literary effort, a clash of beliefs ensues.

Making his Huntington Theatre debut in the role of Eli is Framingham resident Joseph Marrella, who has appeared in several Lyric Stage Company productions and is also seen regularly in “Shear Madness” at Boston’s Charles Playhouse. After graduating from Emerson College in 2006, the Marlton, New Jersey, native taught theater for four years at Westborough High School.

Now a coach with the Boston-based “My College Audition,” Marrella and his wife, Mandy, an elementary school teacher in Framingham, are parents of a 14-month-old daughter, Lily. By telephone last week, the actor shared his thoughts on playing Eli and more.

Q: What do you think of Eli?

A: Eli is a very interesting guy. He’s a white convert, at 23, to Islam. Now, he’s an imam running a mosque and soup kitchen in Atlanta. He does community outreach and is a very kind and warm person. I usually play funny, sweet sidekicks or, on the other side of the spectrum, jerks. Eli, however, is centered and really believes in doing good things. He does a lot for his local Muslim community, he also does volunteer home-improvement projects for people of all faiths. How all this relates to his relationship with Zarina is very important, because it’s what brings him into contact with her father. Eli doesn’t realize, at first, that the father wants to fix him up with his daughter, whom he wants to see married and settled down. Zarina is attractive, incredibly intelligent, and a bit of a spitfire, and Eli likes her right off the bat. Zarina, however, is more cautious. Akhtar’s story was loosely inspired by Shakespeare’s “The Taming of the Shrew,” and here Zarina is the shrew.

Q: Do you relate to Eli?

A: I do, quite a bit, and I also agree with his decisions. The way I see it, Eli has always felt like an outsider. He grew up as the only white kid in a black neighborhood in Detroit and what drew him to the Muslim world was the sense of community it offered. I can relate, because I grew up in South Jersey as theater kid with jock friends. I was trying out for theater, while all my friends were going out for football. I can relate completely to the experience of trying to find a place where you can feel like you truly belong.

Q: What do you think of the role Zarina’s father plays in her relationship with Eli?

A: At first, Eli doesn’t know her dad is behind the fix-up. When they meet, he just wants to be polite and respectful. When he realizes what the father has been up to, however, he thinks what he did is weird. I understand, however, why the father thinks Eli would be good for his daughter. Converts are looked upon very positively, because they have been brought to the faith. Converts often know more about their new religion than people born into it.

Q: What are your thoughts on playwright Ayad Akhtar?

A: As a Pulitzer Prize winner, he is one of the most talked-about playwrights today and for good reason, too. He writes very complex pieces that don’t really seem that way on the surface. There are layers upon layers of meaning in “The Who & the What” and he lays out a lot of different things in every line and every scene. That’s incredibly exciting to play as an actor.

Q: How does it feel to be doing your first show at the Huntington?

A: I’ve auditioned for many of their shows over the years, so it’s phenomenal to be making my debut in a play like this. From the very first day of rehearsal, I felt a tremendous sense of openness and warmth from everyone in the company. It is my first time working with each of my fellow actors, but we all just really clicked from moment one. Our director, Bevin O’Gara, is one of the best and I am thrilled to be working with her. She has an amazing way of sparking thought among her actors and finding a way to synthesize everything that’s going on in every scene.

Q: With its tale of a New York lawyer who puts his career ambitions ahead of his Muslim roots, “Disgraced” generated significant audience participation in its post-show discussions last year. Do you anticipate something similar with this play?

A: We’re preparing for that to an extent. The play does a good job of showing how the Muslim faith works in modern society. The Muslim community is not one I feel a lot of people really understand, so that will probably get our audiences talking. And, at its heart, this is a story about fathers, daughters and families, and those, of course, are topics that often spark conversations.

Q: What’s up next for you?

A: I’m going into the Bostonian Society production of “Blood on the Snow,” as Samuel Dexter, when it reopens in July at the Old State House. I hope I’ll be back in “Shear Madness” soon, too. It’s always a blast to do that show. It is by far one of the greatest jobs I’ve ever had. I’ve played all four male characters, at different times, and it’s made me a much better actor.

Get Involved

Original content available for non-commercial use under a Creative Commons license, except where noted.
The Dedham Transcript ~ 254 Second Ave., Needham, Massachusetts 02494 ~ Privacy Policy ~ Terms Of Service